farming

The Department of Agriculture will pay $4.7 billion to farmers growing soybeans, cotton and other products hit by tariffs in the Trump administration's hard-line trade war with China, announcing the first batch of payments from a $12 billion government aid package.

Starting next Tuesday, the agency will take applications from farmers who produce corn, cotton, dairy, hogs, sorghum, soybeans and wheat — products that were targeted in China's retaliatory tariffs, after the U.S. imposed a 25 percent levy on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports.

The drought finally broke for Texas ranchers late last year. The range and pasturelands on which cattle graze began to recover. Then came the spring. In Cameron, about 140 miles northwest of Houston, the rain began falling at the start of May — and didn't stop all month.

For the first time since 2010, the Dallas City Council this week is considering new rules around agriculture within the city limits. The new ordinance was put together by a team of food activists, gardeners, city staff and elected officials. Susie Marshall, executive director of GROW North Texas, was one of those people.

Summertime, fresh air, blue skies can bring to mind healthy fresh produce, though you don’t expect it to happen near downtown Dallas! Commentator Joan Davidow shares her new weekly farming experiences and looks at how we could all take steps to a better life right in our own back yard.